Verified by No Admin.
June 16, 2019
The Most Valuable Player award for the NBA All-Star Game has been permanently named for Kobe Bryant, the basketball legend who died last month in a helicopter crash, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced on Saturday.
“Kobe Bryant is synonymous with NBA All-Star and embodies the spirit of this global celebration of our game,” Silver said. “He always relished the opportunity to compete with the best of the best and perform at the highest level for millions of fans around the world.”
Kobe Bryant, pictured here in 2011, won the NBA All-Star Game MVP award four times
The Kobe Bryant MVP Award will be presented on Sunday at the conclusion of the 2020 All-Star Game, which is being held in Chicago. The recipient of the award will be chosen by NBA fans, who account for 25% of the vote, and a media panel, which accounts for 75% of the vote.
Bryant, his young daughter Gianna and seven other people died when the helicopter they were traveling in crashed in hilly terrain near Calabasas, California, on Jan. 26. They will be honored at the All-Star Game this weekend, the NBA said.
Source: Yahoo Sports News
Be the first person to like this.
A U.S. citizen diagnosed with the novel coronavirus has died in China in what appears to be the first death of an American from the virus that has sickened tens of thousands of people in China and killed more than 700, a U.S. Embassy spokesperson said.
"We can confirm a 60-year-old U.S. citizen diagnosed with coronavirus died at Jinyintan Hospital in Wuhan, China, on Feb. 6," a spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy in Beijing said.
"We offer our sincerest condolences to the family on their loss. Out of the respect for the family’s privacy, we have no further comment," the spokesperson said.
Dr. Robert R. Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, also offered his condolences on behalf of the agency and said the CDC remains "vigilant" in its efforts to prevent further spread and impact of the deadly virus.
More than 37,198 cases have been confirmed in mainland China as of Saturday morning, the health commission said.
Wuhan and Hubei province, where the city is located, is at the center of the coronavirus outbreak. The virus has been detected in more than 20 other countries, including in the United States.
Twelve people in the U.S. have been confirmed to have the virus, but some of them have been released from the hospital, including a Chicago couple who are now home.
Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/news
Cristiano Ronaldo is first person to top 200 million followers on Instagram
Cristiano Ronaldo has reached 200 million. The soccer star became the first person in the world to reach 200 million followers on Instagram and announced the milestone with a photo montage on Wednesday.
Portuguese Professional Footballer, Cristiano Ronaldo
The Juventus forward beat out, well, everyone for the mark. He stands at around 200.2 million followers. The only account he trails is Instagram itself, which has 330.5 million as of Wednesday. Singer Ariana Grande is third, per Brand Watch, and still has some ground to cover to reach Ronaldo. She has 173.1 million.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is the second-highest athlete with 170.1 million, though he doesn’t currently compete and could be considered an athlete/actor hybrid. Lionel Messi of Barcelona ranks eighth with 141.8 million and Paris Saint-Germain striker Neymar is 10th at 132.6 million.
Source: Yahoo! Sports https://sports.yahoo.com/
Sen. Hope Uzodinma of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been sworn in as the substantive governor of Imo after the Supreme Court declared him winner of the March 9, 2019 governorship election.
Uzodinma was sworn in on by the Imo Chief Judge, Justice Pascal Nnadi, with his team of over 30 judges from the state judiciary at exactly 7.25 pm after his Deputy, Prof. Placid Njoku who took his oath of office by 7:15 p.m.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the swearing-in ceremony took place at the Hero’s Square in Owerri on Wednesday. Nnadi while performing the swearing in said:
“In line with section 185 (2) and Section 187 (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and with the powers vested on me by the constitution, I hereby swear in Sen. Hope Uzodinma as the sixth democratically elected governor of Imo state.”
INEC issues certificate of return to Hope Uzodinma as Imo governor
Uzodinma, in his inaugural speech, described his victory as `rare’ and a reminder that God is faithful and does not abandon those who trusted in him. He thanked the apex court for restoring the people’s confidence in the judiciary and the National Chairman of the party, Comrade Adams Oshiomole, as well as the party’s central working committee for their efforts in ensuring that justice prevailed.
Source: https://www.thisdaylive.com/
The Supreme Court has nullified the election of Emeka Ihedioha of the People’s Democratic Party as the governor of Imo State.
The apex court declared Hope Uzodinma of the All Progressive Congress (APC) as the winner of the March 9 governorship election in the state. Mr Uzodinma originally came fourth in the election. The seven-member panel of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice Tanko Muhammad gave the unanimous decision on Tuesday in Abuja.
Imo State Governor, Emeka Ihedioha (left), APC Governor Candidate?Incoming Governor, Hope Uzodinma (right)
PREMIUM TIMES reported how the apex court earlier on Tuesday dismissed the appeal of Uche Nwosu, the candidate of the Action Alliance in the election. Mr Nwosu, who came second in the election, withdrew his suit which led to its dismissal by the judges.
Mr Nwosu withdrew the suit because the Supreme Court had last December ruled, he was not a valid candidate for the election.
The election result
In the election held in March, Mr Ihedioha of the PDP was declared winner. He polled 273,404 ahead of his closest rival and candidate of the Action Alliance, Uche Nwosu, who polled a total of 190,364. Mr Nwosu is the son-in-law of the then governor, Rochas Okorocha, who strongly backed his candidacy.
The candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Ifeanyi Ararume came third ahead of Mr Uzondima of the All Progressives Congress (APC). The former polled 114, 676 while the latter polled 96,458. The candidate of Accord and Mr Okorocha’s predecessor, Ikedi Ohakim, came distant fifth on the log with 6,846 votes.
Announcing the results of the election, the state’s returning officer and Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Agriculture, Umundike, Abia State, Francis Atunta, gave the total registered voters across the state’s 27 local government areas as 2,221,008 and the total accredited voters as 823,743. He said a total of 25,130 votes were cancelled across the state with total valid votes as 714,355 while the total votes cast is 739,485. A total of 70 candidates representing various political parties took part in the election.
Source: https://www.premiumtimesng.com/
Iran's military says it "unintentionally" shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet, Iran's state TV reports.
The statement said it had done so due to "human error" after the plane flew close to a sensitive site belonging to Iran's Revolutionary Guards.
Those responsible would be held accountable, the statement said.
Iran had previously rejected suggestions that one of its missiles brought down the plane near the capital, Tehran, on Wednesday.
But pressure mounted after the US and Canada, citing intelligence, said they believed Iran had shot down the plane with a missile, possibly accidently.
The downing of Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 with the loss of 176 lives came just hours after Iran carried out missile strikes on two airbases housing US forces in Iraq.
The Ukrainian flight, which was headed to the Canadian city of Toronto via the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, came down near Imam Khomeini Airport shortly after take-off.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/
Donald Trump ordered a U.S. airstrike that killed one of Iran’s most powerful generals and sent global markets reeling as the president said the military leader was plotting attacks on Americans.
“General Qassem Soleimani has killed or badly wounded thousands of Americans over an extended period of time, and was plotting to kill many more...but got caught!” Trump tweeted Friday. “He should have been taken out many years ago!” he added.
Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said earlier Friday that the strike was in response to the threat of an “imminent attack.” He would not provide details about the threat other than to say it was confined to the Middle East and that U.S. intelligence justified the airstrike.
Aftermath of the drone strike that killed Iran's General Qasem Soleimani
Iran’s Supreme Leader quickly threatened “severe retaliation” in response. The U.S. State Department has issued a directive urging American citizens to leave Iraq immediately due to the tensions.
Oil futures in London and New York at one point surged by more than 4%, gold hit the highest in four months, 10-year Treasury yields headed for the biggest drop in three weeks and stocks and U.S. equity futures slid.
Source: https://www.yahoo.com/news
David Stern, the former commissioner of the National Basketball Association died Wednesday, the NBA said. He was 77.
Stern died from a brain hemorrhage he suffered several weeks ago, according to the NBA. Stern suffered the brain hemorrhage December 12 while dining in a Manhattan restaurant. Stern is survived by his wife, Dianne, and their two sons, Eric and Andrew.
Stern became the fourth commissioner of the NBA on February 1, 1984. He previously served as the NBA's general counsel from 1978 until 1980, and then as Executive Vice President of the NBA from 1980 until 1984. In 2012, Stern announced he would step down in February 2014, and tapped Adam Silver as his replacement. At the time of his retirement, Stern was the longest serving NBA commissioner, having held the position for exactly 30 years. After stepping down, Stern remained affiliated with the league with the title of commissioner emeritus, and has remained active in his other interests, such as sports technology.
Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/
The State Security Service has released Sambo Dasuki. His lawyer, Raji Ahmed, told PREMIUM TIMES the former national security adviser was freed on Tuesday night.
Mr Dasuki’s freedom comes hours after the SSS released Omoyele Sowore, an activist who was arrested in August for organising a nationwide protest for good governance.
They were both released on the directive of Attorney-General Abubakar Malami, who prevailed on the SSS in a Tuesday morning statement to obey valid court orders and release them from illegal custody.
Mr Dasuki, a retired Nigerian Army colonel, was Nigeria’s national security adviser until May 2015. He was arrested a few months after leaving office on allegations of corruption and illegal arms possession. He denied any wrongdoing.
Even though the Federal High Court in Abuja where he was arraigned granted him bail more than once, the SSS failed to release him.
Source: https://www.premiumtimesng.com/
Anthony Joshua on Saturday night comprehensively defeated Andy Ruiz Jr 118-110, 118-110, 119-109 in their rematch to regain his IBF, IBO, WBO and WBA (super) heavyweight titles. It was a masterful performance from AJ in Saudi Arabia; the Nigerian-born British boxer schooled Ruiz from range and never allowed the Mexican-American to close the gap.
Joshua jabbed Ruiz Jr to death and he never gave the champion a chance to get inside and land the nasty hooks that led to AJ’s demise the first time around.
Anthony Joshua holding his IBF, WBA and WBO titles after defeating Andy Ruiz Jr
After the fight, both men showed their respect for one another and embraced before they did their post-fight interviews, according to talksport.com
When Joshua asked Ruiz if he wanted to retire following calls for AJ to do the same after he lost in New York, Ruiz answered that he wanted a third fight.
Grabbing the mic, he said, “I want the third fight.”
He then asked the crowd, “Who wants to see the third fight?”
In fact, Ruiz Jr asked the Saudi Arabia crowd several times if they would like to see a third fight between the two men and he seemed to want to do it in Saudi again, too. Joshua suggested he was well up for it too, declaring, “If you’ve heard, we’re gonna do a third.”
Andy Ruiz Jr bloody face after his defeat by Anthony Joshua
Source: http://saharareporters.com/